OSP investigates over 150 cases, Charles Bissue, Adu Boahen probe completed
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has concluded investigations into allegations of corruption against a former Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen, and three other high-profile suspected corruption cases.
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These are besides nine other cases the OSP is investigating, while more than 150 cases are at various levels of consideration.
In its half-yearly report dated June 30, this year, the three other investigative cases concluded by the OSP included an allegation of an attempt by a wealthy businessman to bribe some Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Majority side who called for the resignation of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to rescind their decision.
The OSP indicated that with the conclusion of investigations into the four cases, the Special Prosecutor (SP) would soon announce its next line of action, adding “The Special Prosecutor will issue directives and further action on the matter in due course”.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo terminated Mr Boahen’s appointment on November 14, last year, following an exposé by investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in which the former Minister was allegedly seen taking money from a supposed Arab businessman.
The half-yearly report, signed by the SP, Kissi Agyebeng, is in fulfilment of Section 3(3) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), which enjoins the OSP to publish the list of corruption cases it is investigating, prosecuting, as well as the number of acquittals, convictions, and assets recovered.
Other concluded cases
The two other concluded cases are suspected corruption involving the Gaming Commission in the award of a contract to Turfsport Ghana Limited and allegation of corruption against Charles Bissue, a former presidential staffer, during his tenure as the Secretary to the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
The OSP thanked the Speaker of Parliament and his staff for their support regarding the investigation on the alleged bribery incident.
“The Office expresses its gratitude to the Rt Hon. Speaker of Parliament and his staff for their cooperation and assistance during the investigation,” the report stated.
Prosecutions
With regard to cases in court, the report indicated that the OSP was currently prosecuting three cases in court which were at various levels of trials.
The cases include the trial of former top officials of the Northern Development Authority (NDA) – its Chief Executive, Sumaila Abdul-Rahman; former Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations; Stephen Yir-Eru Engmen, a former Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Finance and Administration, Patrick Seidu, and the Chief Executive A&QS Consortium Limited, Andrew Kuundaari, who are on trial on 11 charges of corruption and corruption-related offences in the award of a contract.
The other cases are the trial of the former CEO of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei, and his brother-in-law, who have been charged with influencing the procurement process to give them undue advantage, and the trial of Alexander Kwabena Sarfo-Kantanka, the President’s nominee for the position of Chief Executive of Juaben Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti Region, who is alleged to have shared money to influence assembly members to vote in his favour.
Cases under investigation
Apart from the four concluded investigative cases and three prosecutions, the OSP revealed in the report that it was currently investigating nine cases, while 150 cases were at various stages of consideration to determine whether they would be investigated or not.
The nine cases under investigation include alleged corruption against the Ghana Police Service during a recruitment exercise involving “Course 51 of Cadet Officers Training at the Ghana Police Academy.”
Others are suspected corruption investigations related to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) during the termination of a distribution contract with Beijing Xiao Cheng Technology (BXC), and investigations of many public officers and private individuals, and mining companies over alleged corruption in the illegal mining menace, popularly known as galamsey.
The investigations by the OSP also cover the Ghana Water Company Limited and the National Sports Authority (NSA) over suspected corruption cases in the award of contracts to certain entities for the provision of goods and services.
Again, the report said the OSP was investigating suspected corruption and corruption-related offences regarding the Airbus SE saga.
“Investigation is ongoing in respect of alleged bribery by Airbus SE, a European multinational aerospace corporation, regarding the sale and purchase of military aircraft for the Republic. The Office is engaged with INTERPOL and the central authorities of the United Kingdom and the United States under the mutual legal assistance regime,” the report stated.
The report further revealed that the OSP was investigating suspected corruption regarding the banking sector crisis which led to the collapse of many banks and deposit- taking institutions.
“The investigation targets alleged corruption and corruption-related offences perpetrated by some officials of the Bank of Ghana, banks, specialised deposit-taking institutions, and financial holding companies,” the report stated.
It also mentioned wider investigations into the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority regarding customs advance rulings and following its earlier investigative report on the Labainca saga.
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“Investigation is also ongoing in respect of suspected corruption and corruption-related offences regarding the auction sales of vehicles and other goods by the Customs Division between 1 July 2016 and 15 August 2022,” the report added.
Another case under investigation by the OSP is the alleged improper acquisition of state land in the Achimota Forest and Ramsar sites by the former CEO of the Forestry Commission, Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, aka Sir John, which came to light when his Will was made public.
No budget
The report decried what it described as the unavailability of established budget to fund its operations.
“We continue to emphasise the need for the state to pay particular attention to the funding needs of the Office. It is in our collective interest to build a resilient, independent, and technologically advanced Office of the Special Prosecutor to stay ahead of and effectively repress corruption and corruption-related actors,” the report stated.
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